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After some subtle urging I think its time to start a build thread based on what I am going to do to my newly acquired 1973 181 VW Thing. I did some trade work for this 181 that I hope to turn into a well functioning true dual sport machine. Ive had extensive experience in all of the off road fabrication facets. Rock Crawlers, Long travel Sand Cars, Off Road Race Trucks as well as buggies and pre-runners, etc.. I was and outside sales rep / consultant for 18 years for a couple of the local welding supply houses covering the entire San Diego area. Since leaving that scene I started my own Hot Rod Shop called Bengels Hot Rods. The truth is we build hot rod and off road components as well as custom hot rod seat frames and a myriad of products. All that to say I am going to be incorporating aspects of a lot of these different off road interests into this build. I most likely will not fit into the traditional mold of what we think of when we think of a BAJA Bug or similar vehicle. Id like to build this Thing into a more of an overland style rig while incorporating tube off road fenders much like a rock crawler. And a bunch of other ideas that will be subtle but different.

It will not be an LS1 fire breathing Race thing, or for that matter even a street thing but a very unique vehicle for my unique needs. I'm kinda going backwards as I am finding simplicity, function and basics more appealing and drawing me back in that direction? Maybe its age? I started out running around the so cal deserts in the late60's and early 70's on a VW 36 HP pan with a couple cross grooved tires, yep we were on the cutting edge! What was a challenge back then was the driving skills and tenacity to get where you wanted to go. every trip was an adventure, Honest. It was by far the most fun I have ever had with a Motor vehicle. Now with the stuff I build for people I feel I should have them sign a disclaimer because they are so fast and powerful that absolutely no driving skill is required. They are literately point and shoot! Now instead of can I make it to the top, it is who can jump the furthest over the top. Its not can I make it up the hill any more, it is how fast can I make it up the hill. I guess I've been there and done that. LOL Its time for me to build a really bitchen little air-cooled thing and remember what it feels like to drive again. I don't expect most of you to understand this, but those of you that do, will get it right away!

I'm fortunate in that I am starting with a very solid 181 with no rust. As far as 181's go the PO has done everything that is available in bolt on design. Everything for the most part that he has done is done well and clean. The nice thing is that everything he has accomplished is exactly what I would have done or would eventually want to do.

What has been done to this point:
So as it sits it has a new fresh 1776 engine
New well tuned Webber progressive carb
Electronic distributor
new aluminized exhaust
Remote oil fillter
3" Body lift kit
I haven't measured them but after market trailing arms
New Bilstiens in the back and Gas-a-justs in the front
2 Trans axles one with a C/Ratio 3rd and 4th gear
Adjustable stock 181 beam in the front
new bushings all around
New studs in the hubs

Things I have to install and build
Full cage
Front and rear bumper / guards / engine cage
Install winch
Aux lighting all the way around
Build a roof rack
possible 3 aux fuel cells
remote oil cooler and fan
some type of spare tire mount
Relocate the tail lights led's
Im sure Im forgetting something!

The car was stripped down to paint but that is where the PO ran out of gas and his project stopped. With that in mind I thought this might be the best time get the above stuff taken car of. Along the lines of paint I think Im going to take thew easy route and just mask off the interior, under the hood, and some day the engine bay and do the Raptor / Line-X Thing. The plan on the out side is to shoot a nice coat of Desert Storm tan on it and go over that with a digital camouflage look.

I need another week or two to finish up a few pre-pending projects then I'm free to jump in on the 181 project. I think it should go fairly quick as I have a bunch beer drinking shop rats that like snick in and hang out here after hours... wrenching fools! So This is a good start to a build thread and to announce just what my intentions are.

Just a warning up front guys! If you see something being done in a different way than your use to seeing that is OK! It most likely being done for a reason that will make since later on in the build. A few pics of what I am starting with. First thing is to get that exhaust up off the ground!

OOPs....

Now just make a 60-66 Chevy C10 bench that has driver/passenger independent slides.....ha

Nice project

One of the firs things I want to build is a full set of tube fenders. Tube fenders are very similar to those that are on many of the jeep crawlers. Ive never seen a set on a thing and for what I want to use it for I think it makes more since that running the plastic fenders. This will require the headlights be moved inboard to the body and flushed in. When doing that I need to be sure that the winch will also fit behind the nose of the thing along with the headlight buckets. They will look something like these that I made for this jeep.

DesertGuy wrote:Now just make a 60-66 Chevy C10 bench that has driver/passenger independent slides.....ha

Nice project

well your getting a bit ahead of where I was going to go. Like I said there are going to be some things here that just isn't the norm for a typical build so I have to work my way into this stuff slooooooowly. People tend to shoot ya down if you step too far out of the box to quickly. But with that said I'm 100% sure the 181 will have a set of our Bengels ASS system (Air Suspension Seats) installed. These seats make a day in the saddle is no problem at all. I made a set for "Its Not a Jeep!" Chris Boyer's International Scout crawler and he swears by them. Nothing like them available. Shape of a M/C Pro being ultra deep off road adjustable air ride suspension seats but still with an adjustable back. Great for that long haul. 5 point available belts will be available. And yes they are Proto types.

Thanks for taking the time to share with us. This will be fun to follow along.

Very nice! You don't need an ls engine to have a blast. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to updates.

Thank you! I like things. There cool! The seats look comfy. I've only seen one set of tube thing fenders and I think they will look cool. Look forward to the build.

Looking forward to the build

Thanks for the encouragement here guys. I've given a lot of thought to this project and I'm anxious to get started...
So the first question. Should the cage be 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" DOM? I've always used 1.5 but thinking 1.75 might give beefier look. Watcha think? Never done it before but maybe 1.75 on the outside hoops and cross rails then use the1.5 for the X's?

Loaded question as everybody has an opinion. Here is mine. DOM if you are going to MIG it. 1-3/4 .095 is stronger and lighter then 1-1/2 .120 wall. So I say 1-3/4 Biggest mistake I made on my car looking back. Whole car is 1-1/2 .120 and could have been lighter and stronger going the other route

Contrary to what a lot of people say....4130 is not lighter then mild steel. Yes it is stronger and will let you get away with using thinner material thus allowing you to build a lighter chassis. But for the most part steel weighs the same regardless of mild, DOM or 4130.

With seamed tube you have to be careful of where you bend vs. where the seam is; the welded seam does not like to stretch when on the outside of the bend or compact on the inside of the bend. I would also think the seam might be a bit weaker in the weld area because of the heat in the weld (see square/rectangular tube below if interested). If you can then the seam is probablly best located 90 degrees to the bend.

With DOM (Drawn Over Mandrel) you should not have to worry about the bending as with seamed tube. Sandrails usually use seamed tube because it it lighter but Sand Cars usually used DOM mainly because they can go so much faster and get on your top easier and harder. If you know you are an idiot ( ) and you are going to go foot on the floor then DOM is probably going to be safer.

Wana talk about square/retangular tube?

Lee

Mine has 1.75" for the main safety cage members and then 1.5" elsewhere (so the rest of the chassis is deliberately less stiff than the main cab area in the event of a serious crash it should crumple first).

The more simple the cage, I'd aim for 1.75". However, a complex cage can get very heavy appearance wise with many tubes. A 1.75" cage with all the diagonals in a "street" car can appear too "intense" for the rest of the car. I know this will spur debate, but consider the use. It's a tight compartment already. If you are to add a roof rack etc. you may consider just how much bar work your going to have. From just an opinion point of view, I like 1.75" for simple clean cages, and the 1.5" in complex/tight confinement for smaller cars with "extra" bar work.
Take this with a grain of salt, as I tried to express a complex view that has many variables beyond the short answer.

Ok, I guess I kinda of misled everyone once again... My Bad. Im not really questioning the types of materials or procedures on building the cage. Strength, materials, and procedures I have a pretty good handle on having manufactured around 40 long travel sand car, pre-runner and numerous crawler frames of different styles. That doesn't even count Jeep cages, race car cages and bug cages. Man O Man, now that I think about we've twisted up a bunch of Moly over the years.

I was thinking more in the lines of cosmetics. I could roll the top tube to give it that late model roll top look, but it might not look good with all the square lines of the car. I don't want it looking like a side by side if ya know what I mean. I like the beef look of the 1.75, but like Geterdone says I don't want it to look too cluttered. I tend to over engineer this stuff while erroring on the side of safety. I need to keep reminding my self 1776cc plus a body and tunnel. This is one of the most difficult choices I think I'm going to come across! LOL Thanks again for your input it really does help!

Just so you will have some idea of our skill set here are just a few frames and suspensions we built over the years...