Thunder Ranch build thread

There's these pictures for comparison-

https://www.speedsterowners.com...50-spyder-roller-20k

Yes, my car is a twin of that, except for the hood hole, I think.

Ed

Here's how Henry solved the 'hole in the wrong place' problem.  Not simple.

Bob that's truly a work of art .

Pure work of art that someone else can appreciate but not me..... Reason not much trunk and never mind how you have to climb on the hood to fill the tank .... Just saying. 

Is it just sitting more upright on the other one?  I'd move hole or weld up a curved neck.

Hard to tell, the photos are vertical instead of horizontal.

Gonna glass over the hole and cut anew. Thanks all.

Now the next item of business: the gas pedal. I need one.

I have a clutch and a brake pedal, each with its own MC/reservoir thing. No go pedal.

The floor has a little steel L bracket with a big hole. I am told this is the standard rig. I have not yet seen just the Spyder-style gas pedal for sale. Can someone direct me to that?

Alan Merklin posted:

Bob that's truly a work of art .

Beautiful, but apparently a real PITA to do.  Henry said he'd never do another one like that. 

Somewhat tongue in cheek but - $16 at Summit Racing.  Billet Aluminum.

Add a sponge cushion from Will and your off to barefoot driving.

Ed, assuming that the old and new holes don't overlap, could you cut the new one first and use it as a plug for the old one?  Differences in contour would probably necessitate resurfacing (maybe not), but it seems me doing so would add strength and make the whole job easier.  Just a thought.

I can see that Ed will be poking all through every Spyder he sees at Carlisle this year....

I know what's going on here. The owner of the kit wanted the hole to be where it sits on a real 550, and had it cut there. I did the same with my BECK 550. Carey moved the neck upward to line up with this hole. 

Maybe Carey could modify your tank for a reasonable charge, Ed.

Mystery revealed.  I welded my original VW tank up years ago for my speedy - yeah, I was afraid of kaboom from gas fumes.  A local muffler shop can easily do the work too - many may refuse though. Starting with a new gas might be safest.

Thanks Arajani. I was thinking the same.

It's a new gas tank. Well...10 years old but never once had any gas in it. I suppose I could have my muffler guy look at it. His guys like to weld stuff and they're pretty good at it. 

No biggie to re-glass though. I've been playing with fiberglass all winter and I have a bunch laying around.

So about that gas pedal. Seriously. No one knows what part that is? I see Fibersteel sells a very nice 3-pedal rig for like a gazillion bucks but I really only need a go pedal, as the other two look the part. A picture of someone's setup would even help. 

Ed-

If you need a gas pedal, talk to Carey -- I think he might have an extra like the one I had (see photo below). Is this the one you're looking for?

I may have a spare but, if I do, it's probably pretty ratty - I got a few pedal clusters from TC a while back to make one good one but I think I saved one of the gas pedals.  Usually the pedal hinge gets eaten away a bit, as well as the casting that it sits on.

I'll take a look later and report back.

Arjani: yeah. That's it exactly. And thanks, Gordon. I've got Bridget's old go pedal somewhere and that's the other option—making something out of junk. I actually like doing that, even though I'm not all that good at it (yet).

Ed, since I don't know jack about FG, and only understand steel a little bit, I think I'd see about a gas tank that works with the hole you have in the hood.  Authentic, and all like that. Plus might leave some room up there for something besides the tank and a bunch of frame parts.

Gas pedal? Is this just the VW arrangement sans the other two pedals?  Probably not, but if so, then these OEM sort of things are pretty cheap.  Cut off the part you dont need and rave on.  Likely not that simple.  Sorry, don't listen to me, as I don't really have a clue here. Trying to remember my old 356 lash-up.  Believe it may have been rod and socket all the way, no cable.  Now, that would be authentic, if you could manage it.  What you can trust me on here is the following:  That rod and socket contraption was a real PITA.

And we're underway. 

Cut some steel yesterday for the gas tank mods, and also cut some fiberglass to get at the frame rails, for the frame rail mods. And also cut some more fiberglass for the oild cooler ducting. 

And started a new blog to document the build.

Please to enjoy responsibly.

Welding, cutting, welding: making the front jack points functional, chapter 1. 

(P.S. I also got the correct-ish horns squared away)

Fabrication is fun...

Lil filler and primer, next, then weld 'em in. This is fun, right?

Very cool with the functional Jack points!

If I could do it again, I'd move the filler where yours is. You can probably get the full 8 or 10 gallons in there, plus it looks better.

Ed, I have a gas pedal. It's a Neal that is cut at an angle, painted black so you can't see the red kit-car looking Neal, and covered with an aluminum, nice looking pedal cover.

I'd use a Morse cable with the pedal, so if you plan the original linkage, nevermind.

Also, I thought the original frame had the Jack points tied together with a narrow tube, say 1/2” or so.

I'll check on that, Danny. PM-ing you on you gas pedal now.

Frame extensions are done (except for paint). Jack points work.

Made some more progress today on the build. Fixed a stress crack in the hood, ground and painted my frame extensions and did some other stuff.

While under the car I took a measurement from the front firewall to the beam. 6 1/4 inches, roughly.

The VW master cylinder is a bit more than 7 inches. 

I have an idea of how to make one fit, but I wonder if anyone has the solution to this already set so they can share it with me.

And away we go!!  The Village Smithy is smokin' -- literally.

Can't see your Wordpress links, Ed.

^ x2  

Deleted former post.

Still at it: looking at gauges, smoothing inner panels, fixing cracks and getting ready to pull the transaxle for new gears.

This link should work.

Way better, Ed. Impressive.

Gee Ed, are you some kind of journalist or sumthin?  You have a great knack for descriptive narration, and pretty good w camera too.  Like to tell stories??  I think we're going to learn a lot here . . . .

Cool Beans ED

Very cool, Ed! Will be following your project and learn a thing or two along the way.