My kitman project..started this in November

Smart not adding a year and just going with 1 May.  Ask me how I know - 32 years later.

@Farmsniper - that's really cool. With the handle, and the pictures of the shop, I was super-curious about your location - Burt, Iowa is even further into flyover country than Tremont or Morton, IL, so I feel like we've got something in common. Nearest town of any size is Mason City or where do you go for stuff?

Anyhow - it looks like you're making good progress. I'm anxious to see your updates.

Welcome to the Madness

UR really a glass halfull kinda guy

Always like to see build pics and final photos.  Let me know if I can share any on the Kitman website.  Cheers

Dr. Chris

I'm originally from Spirit lake Iowa, 51360..........Where is Burt ?    You have a lot of FUN work ahead of you.......Enjoy it !  We will with progressive photos if you post some as you go................]\Bruce

@Farmsniper

Looking forward to following pics of your build progress! Best of luck with the project and don't forget to use the mind trust on this forum for anything and everything you might need to know in your endeavor!  

@aircooled posted:

I'm originally from Spirit lake Iowa, 51360..........Where is Burt ?

Google is your friend, Bruce. Burt, Iowa - population 404.

Looks great already! Looking forward to seeing it completed and on the road. I went to Iowa State in Ames 40 years ago. Loved the place and the people.

Love it... I just joined here to start reading up on a build and hoped to learn some on Kitman Kit.   I picked up the donor last week (no title, will work on that) but my plan is a kitman.  Going to order the kit in April and my goal also is this time next year so my kid can drive it for senior prom.   Looking forward to following your thread and I will start one soon as I pull apart, clean, and prepare for the kit and reassembly.

Did you use drop spindles?

@Erik A Hopperton posted:

Love it... I just joined here to start reading up on a build and hoped to learn some on Kitman Kit.   I picked up the donor last week (no title, will work on that) but my plan is a kitman.  Going to order the kit in April and my goal also is this time next year so my kid can drive it for senior prom.   Looking forward to following your thread and I will start one soon as I pull apart, clean, and prepare for the kit and reassembly.

Great deal but you’ll have to kick it in high gear to meet the deadline. Looking forward to your progress.

@Farmsniper posted:

Hope to be on the road by may 1

Hi Farmsniper . Your Kitman build looks like it’s a bit further along than mine - most notably, you seem to have your doors hung.  Mine don’t fit and based on advice from others on this site I plan to surgically repair them.  Also, I am curious about what you did for a rear body brace.  The Kitman brace as provided doesn’t work.  I installed a kafer bar and am fabbing a rear body brace now.

Good luck with your project!

Dave in Coronado

I’m a little disappointed that Kitman doesn’t provide a little more customer support to their buyers.  Maybe a little guidance, with pictures, to help these guys through some of these rough patches.

Yeah, at best they refer builders to the CMC build manual.  That's like apples and Oranges.

I was under the incorrect impression that the CMC manual covered the bases.  Not even close - especially for installing the doors.  And  the rear body brace seems poorly thought out and essentially impossible to install as provided.  There should be a Kitman specific manual - or at least an addendum to the CMC manual for sure.  Seems like that would help with marketing.

This is what happens when people sell a product they don't know. Selling a fiberglass body and a steel subframe is the easy part, putting it all together is the hard part thats why kitman doesn't do it. I refuse to sell just a body for this very reason we want the customer to be able to finish their project with a smile so we do the hard stuff for you.

Hundreds of CMC kits that went unassembled and abandoned with pigeon poop, old cartons, Christmas decorations and lawn furniture stacked on the speedster bodies.  There was an actual common denominator that, new owners installed the headlight assemblies then threw in the towel.  From what I've recently seen posted, I would not recommend buying the "Assembly required, you figure it out" speedster FG body and separate steel frame to most individuals. The CMC manual was iffy at best but to recommend that to another Mfg's body and frame is skittish at best.  Inexperienced trying to hang CMC doors can be daunting and doing a different hinge style configuration can be a very rough road. In general, a home build is a lot of fabrication, extremely labor intensive and frustration.  One also needs to have an in-depth knowledge of VW air-cooled and general mechanical abilities. Anyone here that has done the own complete build will agree with me that it's not something that the majority should take on.

Fully agree!  Not for the faint of heart.

2008

2018 (Started driving it to work in 2013!)

Take heart, it's worth it !

Let me just put this right here........

And this was AFTER we rescued everything from a garage in New Hampshire and transported everything to South Carolina.  I got the body on, then family issues got in the way and, thankfully, it was finished by Dr. Clock.

I'm afraid that I don't know what happened to it after that.

This was on the other side of the garage.

@Alan Merklin wrote: "Anyone here that has done the own complete build will agree with me that it's not something that the majority should take on."

Hell, it appears that they are quite challenging even for seasoned builders.

@sherco_chris: "Image Not Found" x2

Love that patina look; looks authentic!

that red patina thing was for sale awhile ago down the fwy...guess it was a good runner, he took it on the tahoe trips..was asking 12,500....he was a active member way back when..